Page 3 - Impact - Fall 2020

INSPIRING entrepreneurs, FOSTERING future leaders
PORK PARTNERS,
PROTEIN PROVIDERS
What results when Minnesota pig farmers, CFANS and Second Harvest Heartland come together in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic? Thousands of pounds of ground pork for families in need.
CFANS teamed up with the Minnesota
Pork Board to get much-needed protein to the community. When COVID-19 caused disruptions in many meat-packing facilities, Minnesota pig farmers donated pigs and the CFANS Andrew Boss Laboratory of Meat Science opened its doors for processing operations. To date, 33,000+ pounds of ground pork have been donated to Second Harvest Heartland.
A riveting scientific
ADVENTURE
When he was a fledgling
birdwatcher, CFANS alumnus
Jonathan C. Slaght (MS
Conservation Biology ’05; Ph.D.
Wildlife Conservation ’11) had a
chance encounter with one of the
most mysterious birds on earth — the enormous, elusive Blakiston’s fish owl. Soon he was on a five- year journey, searching for this enigmatic creature in the lush, remote forests of eastern Russia. He documents his scientific adventures in an exciting new book, Owls of the Eastern Ice: A Quest to Find and Save the World’s Largest Owl, which is a 2020 National Book Award nominee. The events in the book were his Ph.D. project at CFANS.
For Jeffrey Stamp, currently a
teaching professor in the Department of
Applied Economics, the entrepreneurial
“spark” happened years ago when he
was working at Frito-Lay. A graduate
of CFANS (BS, Food Science and
Technology, ’83; and Ph.D., Food
Science, ’90), he was charged with
leading a team to discover and innovate
what would become Lays® Baked Potato Crisps and other better-for-you snacks.
“That experience was so different from traditional college learning that I vowed to find a way to someday help influence this type of entrepreneurial thinking earlier in the college career,” said Stamp.
His vision will become reality in the coming months as Stamp and others develop a program to prepare
students for the workforce by providing them with practical, real-world experience and a tangible certification that will elevate them above their competition.
This program has been generously funded by entrepreneur and alumnus (BS, Forestry, ’69), Steve Weekes. Weekes has maintained close ties to CFANS over the years, serving on boards and speaking to classes. His company, Weekes Forest Products, also has hired many CFANS graduates.
“I had been considering a gift to the University for some time when I learned about the concept of teaching entrepreneurship in non-business-focused college courses,” said Weekes. “It resonated with me, because all students can benefit from having an entrepreneurial mindset. This concept applies not just to business formation, but how we can improve existing services and products and how we do things.”
This is great news for CFANS, where students are taught that great minds don’t necessarily think alike, but like entrepreneurs.
JEFFREY STAMP